The Dark Mage’s Return to Enlistment

Chapter 31 : Hwacheon-

At the same moment.

2nd platoon, Battalion HQ.

“What? All of 2nd platoon passed through without any casualties?”

“Yes, sir!”

The Battalion Commander jumped up at the words of the Company Commander that all of 2nd platoon had completed the training.

As it was a major training event that took place every four years, the Battalion Commander couldn’t help but feel nervous as well, as it was also connected to his own promotion.

“2nd platoon, 2nd squad, led by Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min.”

Only after confirming the members of 2nd squad, the rigid expression on the Battalion Commander’s face relaxed.

Compared to other companies, the performance of 2nd platoon had been the lowest in training.

“We survived thanks to these guys. Phew.”

On the other hand, all members of 2nd squad had completed the training without a single casualty.

That was certainly remarkable.

“They handled every situation perfectly! There were hardly any deductions!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! I just received a report from the inspector! Especially, Sergeant Kim Min-jun stood out in handling situations, and even Corporal Son Eun-seo completed the training without a scratch!”

“Kim Min-jun… Argh! I want to run and hug him right now.”

The Battalion Commander burst into laughter upon hearing the report from the Company Commander.

Thanks to 2nd squad, they had turned the tables and achieved a complete reversal.

“Including Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min, give all members of 2nd squad a reward vacation.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Give Kim Min-jun a 3-night, 4-day vacation, and the rest a 1-night, 2-day vacation.”

“Yes!”

After finishing his words, the Battalion Commander leaned back on his chair with a relaxed expression.

“Kim Min-jun. And even Corporal Son Eun-seo. Keep an eye on them a little more.”

The Battalion Commander chuckled as if he found it amusing.

**

“Guys, you did really well!”

As the training ended, Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min shouted with excitement and laughed.

“Thank you for following me so well until now, you little brats! They say there’s no platoon other than ours that completed the training among all Hunter platoons!”

“No, sir!”

“It’s all thanks to the leadership of our platoon leader!”

In response to their answer, Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min smiled happily.

“That’s right. Good job, you little brats. Go straight to the barracks and get a good rest. There won’t be any morning formation or drill tomorrow.”

“Yay!”

“I know. It was just a joke.”

“Are you going to keep doing that until the end?”

“Well, I might just be playing around. Fifty…”

“Please stop!”

After a short conversation, she disappeared into her duty station.

“Min-jun, you should go in too now. Rest well.”

“Yes! Thank you, Sergeant, for your hard work during the training! Loyalty!”

“Yeah.”

After finishing the conversation with Kim Min-jun, Kim Cheol-min immediately gave instructions for the next tasks through the broadcast.

All 2nd Division hunters must shower and get enough sleep. The sergeant will check around the dormitory, so make sure to do it.
After returning to the dormitory, the hunters quickly finished their showers and fell asleep.

If there hadn’t been an order from the sergeant, they would have jumped into bed soaked in sweat from the heat.

**

The day after the Hunter Mobility Training ended.

The base was quiet as if a mouse had died.

Since it was a four-day long intensive training, there was no work scheduled for the day after the training.

“Huh? What’s this? Wasn’t the Hunter Mobility Training over yesterday?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The soldier’s mess hall was empty.

Except for a few cooks from other platoons and some chefs, there was only Kim Min-jun inside the mess hall.

As the big training had just ended yesterday, everyone was probably busy sleeping.

The cooks also knew this, so they cooked less food than usual.

“Come to think of it, Kim Min-jun, you were in 2nd Platoon, 2nd Company, right? You seem really energetic.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I heard a rumor that your platoon had a perfect score in the training.”

“Is that so?”

The cook looked at him with interest.

“I overheard the officers talking while they were having their meal. They said the Black Ghost, you handled it all by yourself?”

“Oh, yes. It just happened that way.”

“Wow… Was that really true? Isn’t it insane for one platoon to take on that much?”

The cook kept exclaiming in amazement.

‘He’s amazing.’

It wasn’t surprising to me.

Of course, I got a perfect score.

Because I was in 2nd Platoon.

“It’s amazing. I heard the intensity of this mobility training was crazy. Most of the privates and corporals scored below 70%.”

The cook looked at him with curious eyes, as if something had occurred to him, and headed somewhere.

“Ah, please wait a moment.”

“Yes?”

After a short while, the cook came out with a plate full of fried chicken legs.

“This is today’s special. The other hunters won’t come anyway, and there’s a lot left. Would you like to eat it?”

“Oh, really? Can I eat it all?”

“Yes, because we have to throw it away anyway.”

What a stroke of luck.

Fried chicken legs, of all things.

“Well, then I’ll enjoy it.”

It might be a chore for the cook, but was that his concern?

Crunch!

“Oh, this overflowing oil…. How delicious.”

How tasty it was.

**

“Hmm? What’s this?”

Chewing on the chicken leg with excitement.

Knight Walker had discovered an area where magic was felt, and came to report it.

It was made possible as his skill level had increased.

Of course, it was not the most efficient way, as it consumed a lot of magic.

“Where is it? Show me.”

In his mind, a village passed by.

A small village on the verge of becoming ruins.

It looked like monsters had swept through it.

“Which area? Where is it?”

Knight Walker answered that it was an area in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province.

“What? How did you find this? You asked for some magic earlier, was it because of this?”

Knight Walker nodded in response.

He seemed to be expecting praise.

“You crazy bastard! After sucking up so much magic, you only found this? If the magic here is scarce, you better be prepared to face my wrath.”

Knight Walker quietly disappeared into the shadows.

“Just when I applied for a vacation because I was feeling restless, the timing couldn’t be better.”

Kim Min-jun headed straight to the duty officer’s room to report his vacation.

“At your service!”

“Oh, Kim Min-jun, are you on vacation today?”

“Yes.”

The duty officer confirmed the one-night, two-day vacation and raised his eyebrows.

“Are you sure about dividing the regular vacation, Jayoon? If it’s just one night and two days, you could go home and come back, and it would be over. Did I write this correctly?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Hunter Corps officers were allowed to divide and use their regular vacation as they wished.

Of course, combining the vacation days was also allowed.

Kim Minjoon had saved up his vacation days as much as possible in order to absorb magic power.

“Alright then, have a safe trip.”

“I will! Loyalty!”

The day after the Hunter mobility training ended was the start of his vacation.

“As rumored, he has monstrous stamina.”

The duty officer looked at Kim Minjoon, who showed no signs of exhaustion, and clicked his tongue.

**

“What’s this? They’re killing the timing.”

Hwacheon, Gangwon Province.

When the Night Walkers arrived at the location they had discovered, the Hunter Corps members were already there.

“There are only Hunter Corps members. Did they come from another battalion?”

Spray-spray-

The Hunter Corps members were spraying the ground with a sprayer filled with special disinfectant.

The equipment they carried on their backs resembled a pesticide sprayer, reminding one of a backpack.

“Ah… When will this end…”

“I didn’t know that the civilian support would come right after the Hunter mobility training was not properly completed. It seems like the battalion commander was really angry.”

“Sigh… I’m exhausted… When did the monsters appear here?”

Areas that were attacked by monsters must go through a disinfection process with special chemicals.

This is because traces of monsters can attract other monsters.

The Hunter Corps members, still feeling the fatigue from the mobility training, sprayed the chemicals while dozing off.

“So, where exactly is the accurate location? Find it.”

Ssssss-

Kim Minjoon released the Night Walker and pondered on how to proceed.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have bought some civilian clothes at least.”

“It’s too noticeable because of the military uniform.”

“What? Why is he there?”

While scanning the surroundings,

A familiar face caught his eye.

It was Son Eun-seo, who had owed him a favor during their Hunter Combat Training.

“Wow, did you even use expensive potions?”

Son Eun-seo walked around casually, spraying medicine.

“I should come back here at night when they’re gone. It won’t work now.”

Just as Kim Min-joon was about to turn away from the hunters.

“Hey there! What are you doing without a spray gun?”

A sharp voice came from behind.

Son Eun-seo was a sergeant.

“…What? Why is Kim Min-joon here?”

When she noticed him, she looked surprised.

“I’m on vacation.”

“Don’t lie. Who wears a military uniform during their vacation? It looks like you’ve defected. I should report it to the unit immediately…”

“I really am on vacation. Look at this.”

Kim Min-joon took out his vacation pass from his pocket and showed it to Son Eun-seo.

“…It’s real.”

“See? It’s real.”

“Why did someone on vacation come here wearing a military uniform? Don’t you know this is a restricted area?”

She looked at him with suspicious eyes.

He couldn’t say, “I came here to absorb the magic power.”

“I had some business near Hwacheon, and I heard that other platoon hunters were coming here for civilian support.”

“Civilian support? Why?”

“I didn’t have anything to do right now, so I thought I could help. And also earn some performance points.”

“…You didn’t forge the vacation pass, did you?”

“It would be harder to come out of the unit with a forged one.”

As they were talking,

Sssss-

“What? They’re coming out soon?”

An emergency situation arose at the same time as Night Walker’s report.